demonstrate that all the activities identified in the ninth century – trade and craft
production – continued until the mid-tenth century. But the number of artefacts drops
around ad 900 – 30. There are, for instance, only nine coins from the period 900 – 60 ,
whereas there are nearly 100 coins deposited in the preceding century. To the extent that
the number of deposited coins is a direct result of the intensity in trade, the difference
between the two periods is even greater than the number of coins indicates, since the
total import of coins to Scandinavia increased many times from the ninth to the tenth
century.
Figure 8. 3. 2 The extent of Blindheim’s ( 1956 – 74 ) and Skre’s ( 1999 – 2003 ) excavations in the
settlement area at Kaupang. (Copyright © Kaupang Excavation Project, University of Oslo.)–– Dagfinn Skre––